Such confidence. It was a wonder my head didn't swell from the praise.
Liam lifted his chin at the other two enforcers, Daniel and Makoto. "What about you two?"
The larger of the two men answered. "I think this round should be the four of you. We'll wait for Eric's arrival."
Daniel was a mountain of a man with hair the color of gold and pretty hazel eyes. One of the few vampires I'd seen who sported a beard, he looked like a Viking of old. He was built for power and a little rough around the edges. His hair was longer than what was considered trendy, but it worked on him. Most days he wore a 'don't fuck with me' expression. Today, however, he seemed softer. Almost, happy.
Where Daniel looked like he could have stepped from that Viking drama on the History channel, Makoto was a poster child of the modern era. His head was shaved on both sides, his hair longer on top and formed into a mini faux hawk. Today it was dyed neon pink. He had several piercings in his ear and tattoos winking from the edges of his shirt along his neck and arms.
“What about you?” Liam asked Connor. Until now, my semi coworker had gone unnoticed where he sat on a stack of mats reading a book.
“I will observe for now,” Connor said.
Liam prowled to the opposite side of the court. “Alright, let's do this.”
Nathan paused beside me. "Just remember, A, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
My stare was incredulous. Was that supposed to be comforting?
His smile broadened. "This is going to be so much fun."
He practically skipped to the middle line, setting the ball down before joining Liam at the back of their side of the court.
"Why does it feel like I'm being hazed?" I muttered to myself, trudging toward Anton. “Are we really playing dodge ball?"
"We're not here to play tag," Anton said sourly.
"Thanks, asshole. Super helpful."
My insult had the opposite effect, making Anton grin. I stopped to stare, starstruck. That expression on his face made me see why some of the women here fell all over themselves to get his attention.
"You ready?" Nathan called.
Anton crouched; his smile bloodthirsty. "If you're hit, you're out. Catch it and they're out. Try your best not to die."
I rolled my eyes at him. Such lovely advice. It warmed the heart.
I bent my knees, finding my center of balance. A familiar rush of anticipation shivered through me.
These vampires didn't know it, but once upon a time I'd been considered the queen of dodge ball in elementary and middle school. I might not have been the hardest thrower or the most accurate, but I was always the last one standing. Dodging was something of a talent of mine. One that still came in handy.
Daniel walked to the middle line dividing the court, acting as the referee. He glanced at both sides and held up his hand. Time went still. His hand came down and an ear-splitting whistle announced the start of the game.
Anton raced forward, his body little more than a blur.
I stayed put. There was no way I'd beat Liam or Nathan in a foot race. No, if I wanted to last longer than a second, I needed to play this smart.
I stuck to the back of the court, letting Anton take the lead. He snatched the ball off the line a split second before Nathan reached it. Anton’s expression was triumphant as he danced out of reach of his fellow enforcer.
Nathan sprang back from the line, putting distance between him and Anton. The other enforcer launched the ball at him. It flew, narrowly missing Nathan. It crashed into the back wall with a meaty thwack, rebounding and losing none of its speed as it shot toward us.
Liam intercepted and tossed it to Nathan.
My eyes widened as the reality of what I'd gotten myself into sunk in. This wasn't a normal game of dodge ball between friends. It was an extreme training session gone wild.
That ball had packed some serious velocity. I knew rockets that created less noise on impact. If one of them hit me, it was goodbye life, hello broken body.
Nathan bounced the ball. "You ready for this, A?"
